On August 7, an explosion rocked the port of Derince in western Turkey, killing one person and injuring twelve. Was it caused by weapons allegedly stored there for Ukraine?
Russian media claim that yes, the cause was a shipment of weapons intended for the armed forces of Ukraine. One of the pro-Russian Telegram channels asks:
“It’s very strange – after all, it was not explosive fuels and lubricants or fertilizers that were loaded. Or maybe there was not only grain, but also deadly” toys “for the Armed Forces of Ukraine?”
The explosion occurred in an area where ships are being loaded with grain at elevators controlled by the Turkish Grain Board.
Neither local authorities nor representatives of the media found any military equipment at the site of the explosion. The governor of Kocaeli, where the port is located, stated:
“Initial estimates indicate that the explosion was due to the compression of wheat dust during the transportation of wheat. But we are investigating all possible causes.”
Ibrahim Yumaklı, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey, commented on the incident:
“At the moment, we believe that the explosion occurred due to technical consequences caused by dust compression. The prosecutor’s office and other units are conducting the necessary investigations. After everything is done, we will share the results with the public.”
Indeed, there is nothing unusual in such a chemical reaction. According to the US Occupational Health and Safety Administration, “Any combustible material can burn rapidly in a finely dispersed form. If such dust is suspended in the air at the right concentration, then under certain conditions it can become explosive. For example, sugar and grain.”
The daily newspaper Hurriyet, referring to the opinion of a competent chemical engineer, explains:
“When wheat is transported from storage to a ship, it shrinks. However, any organic matter is flammable and explosive when it turns to dust.”
That is, according to the specialist, if the dust is “in suspension in a closed space, for example, in a container or bunker, and meets an ignition source, in particular, a spark of mechanical origin,” this is enough to cause a large explosion.
However, similar incidents due to grain dust have happened before, remembers euronews. In 1998, in the American Kansas, at the world’s largest grain elevator, there were several explosions that killed 7 people. And in Europe, the last major grain dust explosion occurred in Blaye, France in 1997, killing 11 people.
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